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Havoc in Hulcrak 2
Havoc in Hulcrak 2 is an encounter in the Madness & Magma mission hub. It comes after Havoc in Hulcrak 1 or Havoc in Hulcrak 3. Enemies *Marauding Crystal Gazer (1170 Gold, 144 XP, 90 Energy, 5 HP Normal) *Marauding Warrior (1235 Gold, 152 XP, 95 Energy, 6 HP Normal) Transcript Introduction It’s far from the first time you’ve found a settlement under assault, borne witness to the brutish violence of sanctum and security. In fact, you’ve encountered it so often of late that a cynic might argue that you’re cursed – a man before whom misfortune and strife travel as unwelcome vanguards. Either that or a troublemaker forever wedging himself into conflicts wherever he finds them. In any event such things are part of your life now, and might under more conventional circumstances haven given you little pause. But in this case the turmoil still manages to arrest you for a moment as your vision slices across the tableau. The first thought which flits into your mind isn’t a martial musing, an analysis of attack and defence, the contrivance of some splendid tactic which might enable you to impose order on the chaos and catapult you to victory. No… Instead what occurs to you is how beautiful it all is. Hulcrak is magnificent. Crystal gleams on every surface, encasing the buildings in a glorious rainbow embrace. The architecture itself is simple, rough and rugged – squat structures which stripped of that veneer would be deemed crude and artless edifices. But with that crystal, its natural beauty turning each building into an utterly unpretentious monument to wonder, this underground settlement becomes almost celestial. Even the violence which surrounds the structures only serves to enhance them. Clashing oroc bodies, cleaving crystalline weapons, add to the psychedelic play of light and colour. That’s the first thing which strikes you. The second is rather more pragmatic… When entering a town under attack by beastmen, or royal troops, it’s simple enough to tell aggressor from victim, foe from potential friend. But how exactly does one determine that when dealing with near-naked orocs? “Which ones do we attack?” Tessa asks. “Syraxa!” Rakshara yells, launching the name into the world as a warlike bellow, an incredulous, treacherous rallying cry. “Syraxa!” comes the echo, a declaration of loyalty and exhortation to victory from several oroc throats. The spell leaves your own lips as the aftermath of the shout still trembles on theirs. Your friend’s cunning has revealed your foes to you, and the instant you comprehended her stratagem you knew it would fall to you to capitalize on it. There wasn’t time to ponder the action, to select a spell from your mental arsenal like a vain woman running a leisurely gaze across the contents of her jewellery box. Thus the magic which now comes into being represents the first suitable sorcery which fell into your cerebral grasp, an illusionary enchantment that’s perhaps not entirely in keeping with your bellicose surroundings. Many of the orocs stop fighting, taking a moment to wallow in collective confusion. “So…” Tessa says. “We attack the ones with fairies dancing on their heads?” Conclusion The phantom fairies continue to dance their merry jig. That they’re now dancing on the nerveless heads of dead warriors, in one case no longer even attached to her body, doesn’t seem to perturb them in the slightest. Those illusionary beings maintain their choreography, even if it means dancing parallel to the ground – their weightless, unreal bodies spurning gravity like the idle wind which they regard not. “Nice spell,” Hugh says. “Now get this thing off my head.” “Sorry. I’m not quite sure how one ended up there…” Category:Madness & Magma